Washington (CNN) – Joe Scarborough, the MSNBC host who has flirted with the possibility of running for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, offered a candid assessment of the potential White House field during a closed-door session Tuesday with South Carolina Republicans.

Scarborough made the quiet, last minute trip to South Carolina, an early primary state, to address a weekly luncheon held by Republican legislators and to promote his new book about the future of the GOP.

Washington (CNN) - Republicans have an edge in enthusiasm over Democrats as the Midterm Election season begins to heat up, according to a new national survey.

Seventy percent of registered Republican voters questioned in a new CBS News poll say they are very or somewhat excited about voting in November, compared to 58% of Democrats. Only 47% of independent voters say they're very or somewhat excited to cast ballots in the midterms. And 81% of registered Republicans say they'll definitely vote in November, compared to 68% of registered Democrats.

(CNN) - Rand Paul put a new spin on a familiar refrain that the Republican Party needs to broaden its base. He compared the GOP's need for change to a recent Domino's Pizza's campaign to improve the taste of its crust.

The Kentucky senator and potential 2016 presidential candidate told a packed crowd of students at the University of California at Berkeley on Wednesday that "the Republican Party needs to either evolve, adapt or die."

Washington (CNN) – Sen. Rand Paul delivered a fervent plea Wednesday to expand the Republican Party and make the GOP more compassionate toward those "who aren't treated fairly by the criminal justice system," noting African-Americans and Hispanics in particular.

Speaking to a group of conservatives, the Kentucky Republican and potential 2016 presidential candidate also acknowledged a rift within the party over budgetary issues and civil liberties.

Washington (CNN) – Representatives from eight cities met with GOP officials Monday in the nation’s capital to talk specifics about what it would take to host the Republican National Convention in 2016.

While the meeting was not a required step in the RNC’s selection process, it provides a look at which cities are seriously considering bidding on the convention where Republicans will choose the party’s next presidential nominee.

Washington (CNN) – If you tune in to CNN’s coverage of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, you’ll find plenty of intelligent reporting, insightful analysis, and a robust and thoughtful discussion of the most important issues facing our nation.

You won't find any of that here. But where else will you find the answers to burning questions such as, “What color necktie did Obama wear in 2011?” and “What the heck is that thing in front of John Boehner?”

Washington (CNN) – The Republican National Committee gave near-unanimous approval Friday to a package of rules changes that would condense the 2016 presidential nominating calendar and help the party avoid the kind of protracted party infighting that dented GOP nominee Mitt Romney's general election appeal in 2012.

The changes dovetail with the party's desire to move the convention from late summer to a June window, which would make the next Republican National Convention the earliest convention in either party since 1948. The RNC has announced its support for the June move but will formally vote on the change at a later date.

(CNN) - The percentage of Americans who identify themselves as political independents is at an all-time high and the number who identify as Republicans is at an all-time low, according to new numbers by Gallup.

Forty-two percent of Americans identified themselves as independents last year, the highest level Gallup's measured since it switched from in-person to telephone interviews a quarter century ago.